Combination lock



W. J. H. RUSCHMEYER.

COMBINATIDN LOCK- PYP ICATIUN FILED DEQZZ IQZ] 1,427,551. A L Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

4 suns-sum W. J. H. RUS CHMEYER. co ATION LOCK.

APPLICAT ".50 DEC. 22. 192l- 1,427,551. Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 'IIIIII'II' 1. H. RUSCH MEYER.

COMBINATION LOCK.

APPLICATION mu) 050.22. I921.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM J. H. RUSCI-IMEYER, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

COMBINATION LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

Application filed December 22, 1921. Serial No. 524,128.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM J. H. Boson:- MEYER, a citizen of Germany, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have made an Invention Appertaining to Combination Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a 7 part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a means for locking any two parts together which is charged with an explosive to prevent tampering with the locking means. It particularly has for its object to provide a combination lock for a safe or vault which is protected by an explosive, particularly from the use of blow torches, such as acetylene or oxy-hydrogen flames commonly used for cutting metals. The invention consists in other advantages and features which will appear from the following description and upon examination of the drawings forming a part hereof.

The invention may be contained in structures of different forms, and to illustrate a practical application of the invention 1 have selected a safe having the combination lock involving the use of my invention as an ex ample of structures containing the 1nven-,

tion, and shall describe it hereinafter. The structure selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a front view of the safe having the locking means. Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section taken along the line 22 indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the safe taken on the line 3-3 in- .dicated in Fig. 52. Fig. 4. is a sectional view taken on the line 44 indicated in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an end view of one of the elements that are joined together to form the locking combination. Fig. 6 illustrates an edge view of one of the parts of the locking elements. Fig. 7 is a side view of another part of one of .the locking elements, a part being shown. broken awayto show the construction of the part of the element. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8 8 indicated in Fig. 4.

1, in Figures 1, 2 and 3, indicates a safe,

ing bolts 4 are located and guided in their movements. Any number of locking bolts l may be used for locking the safe. They are shifted endwise so that their ends will enter either the body portion of the safe or will interlock the doors.

The bolts 4 are provided with racks 5 and are operated by gear wheels 6 to shift the doors along the channels? and into openings 8 formed in the doors and in the safe body. In the form of constructionshown the gear wheels 6 operate the bolts 4 that extend horizontally, and the gear wheels 9 operate the gear wheels that extend vertically and are moved vertically to connect the lower and upper parts of the doors with the bottom and top walls of the safe. The gear wheels 6 and 9 are keyed to the shafts 10 that are supported in the doors and the plates 3 for rotative movements. The shafts 10, as shown in Fig. 8, are hollow and are provided with glass tubes 11 that are filled with an explosive, such as gun powder or other explosive. The tubes 11 are sealed at their ends by any sealing material, such as paraffin plugs 12. The tubes 11 are supported in their position within hollow shafts 10 by means of the rubber rings 13 located near the ends of the tubes 11, and moreover the tubes are surrounded with infusorial earth 14. The explosive is thus protected from explosion to agreat extent by mere jarring of the shafts in assembling the locking means of the safe.

The shafts 10 are each threaded at one end thereof and are secured to the blocks 15 by being screwed into the blocks. The blocks or handles 15 for operating the shafts 10 to cause rotation of the wheels 6 and consequent movements of the locking bolts, are also provided with a channel 16 in which is located a tube 17 The tube 17 may be also filled with an explosive and the ends closed by suitable plugs 18 of parafiin. The

tube .17 is supported by rubber rings 19 and The safe is provided with the supporting blocks or ears The blocks 15 and 39 are provided with ;5111i-Ci1CLlltUf flanges 21 and a plurality of rabetted edged combination lock elements 22 lit between parallel surot' the blocks when the bolts of the safe tion. The barrels thus are in locking pot formed by the interiitting locking elements rest upon the semi-circular flanges 21 and are thus sustained in position temporarily and until they are interlocked by keys that pass through the sets of lements.

Each combination forming element is formed of two parts having interengaging teeth. The part 23 is in the form of a disk having radially extending teeth or projections as that fit between the teeth or projections 25 that extend laterally from the edge of the shell part 26 of the element. There are asmany teeth or channels in the part 23 as there are teeth or channels in the part 26 so that the disc 23 may be rotated to any desired point relative to the part 26 and the teeth placed in between the teeth or projections 25 of the part 26. The surface of the part 26 ot the element may be lettered or numbered as may be desired, the lettering or the numbering corresponding to the teeth or channels formed in the periphery of the disc or that are located at one of the of the shell 2660 that the channel 27 may be located at any point that may be designatcd by the letter or number located on the suriace of the part 26. The key 28 is provided with a plurality of prongs 29 that fit between adjoining discs 23 and project from the body of the key no greater than the radial slot 27. I1"? desired, the projections or prongs of the key 28 may be arranged in a straight line along one side of the key 28, in which. case the key may be readily inserted through the elements 22 and through theblocks 15 and 39 which are also provided with slots 30 that extend radially from the o 'ienings 31 formed therein. The position of the slots or channels 27 of the elements 22 relative to the markings on the elements may be secretly known and consequently the elements may be rotated to place the slots or channels 2? in alignment with the slots or channels 30 only by those who know the secret combination. Then the key has been inserted through the handles 15 rotation of the handles to withdraw the bolts is prevented and the handles can be turned to unlock the safe only when the elements of the combination have been properly set and the key and elements removed from the handles, .hereupon the handles may be rotated shift the bolts and unlock the safe.

The key 28 is also made hollow and is provided with central tube 3 which is filled with an explosive. The ends of the tube 33 may be plugged with suitable material, such as paraffin 34, and suspended by rubber washers 35 and surrounded by infusorial earth S6, and thus protected in substantially the same manner that the handles 15 and the shafts 10 are protected. One end of the key may be provided with a handle or knob 3'7 and the other end may be provided with metallic thread plug 38.

I claim:

1. In a combination lock, a locking means, a plurality of adjustable elements for controlling the locking means, a removable tubular member for containing an explosive, and locked in position by the adjusted elements and unlocked from the elements when the elements are positioned in a predetermined arrangement relative to each other.

2. In a combination look, a locking means, a member for operating the locking means, a fined member, a plurality of adjustable ele ments located between the said members, and a key extending through the adjustable elements and the members and controlled by the adjustable elements, an explosive contained in the key.

3. In a combination lock, a locking means, a member for operating the locking means, a fixed member, a plurality of adjustable elements located between the said members, and a key extending through the adjustable elements and the members and controlled by the adjustable elements, an explosive contained in the first named member and an explosive contained in thekey.

l. In a combination look, a plurality of bolts, a. handle, means interconnecting the bolt and the handle for shifting the bolts into locking position, a fixed lug, a plurality of adjustable members located between the handle and the lug, a key extending through the lug and the handle and engaged by the adjustable members for preventing the operation of the bolts by the handle.

5. In a locking means, a plurality of bolts, a handle and a stem connected to the handle and to the bolts for operating the bolts, means for looking the handle in position, an explosive contained in the handle and the stem.

6. In a. locking means, a plurality of bolts, a handle and a stem connected to the handle and to the bolts for operating the bolts, a fixed lug, the lug and the handle having slots, a plurality of adjustable interengaging elements having slots, the key having a plurality of lugs ektending through first named lug, the elements and the handle and engaged in position by the adjustable elements, an explosive located in the handle I and an explosive located in the key.

8. In a locking means for a safe, a plurality of sets of bolts located in the doors of the safe, and having racks formed integral with the bolts, a plurality of pins for operating the bolts, a lurality of handles having stems for operating the pinions, a plurality of fixed lugs located on opposite sides of the handles and connected to the doors of the safe, a. plurality of sets of adjustable interengaging elements located on opposite sides of the handles and between the handles and the lugs, the lugs, the elements and the handles having slots, a plurality of keys extending through the lugs, the elements and the handles and having lugs adapted to pass through the slots When the slots are placed in alignment.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM J. H. RUSGHMEYER. 

